1. Field of the Invention
A personal mobility vehicle lift operatively mounted to the rear portion of a vehicle to transport a personal mobility vehicle from location to location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous lifts and hoists have been designed to transport personal mobility vehicle on the rear of vehicles. Unfortunately, such devices generally require extensive electrical wiring, complex mechanical modification and usually occupy a significant portion of limited available trunk space. Thus there exists a need for an externally mounted wheelchair lift requiring a minimum of electrical and mechanical conversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,827 B1 discloses a power wheelchair lift and restraint system for attachment to a rear of a vehicle including a lift platform having a substantially flat, uninterrupted generally rectangular support surface sized in length and width to be similar to, and to supportively receive, a broad size and configuration range of power wheelchairs thereon. A power lift mechanism is attachable to the rear of the vehicle and supportively connected to the platform for elevating and lowering the platform with the power wheelchair positioned thereron.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,580 teaches a portable crane for hoisting electric scooters, wheel-chairs and the like which includes a column assembly, a boom assembly, a base assembly and a winch assembly. The column assembly is removably and pivotally mounted between an opened vehicle trunk lid and a trunk floor. The column assembly includes top and bottom pivot pins which rotatably engage pivot pin receiving holes and about which the boom assembly rotates. The column assembly and boom assembly are collapsible so as to allow the trunk lid to close.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,200 discloses an apparatus for hoisting a wheelchair into and out of an enclosure including a swivel base having a stationary section that may be secured within the enclosure and a section rotatable on the stationary section about a vertical axis. A motor mount is positioned above and is connected to the rotatable section of the swivel base. An angled arm is pivotally connected to the motor mount and is capable of standing rigidly upright when in use and capable of folding down when not in use. A cable, attached to a reel at one end, has a series of pulleys located on the angled arm to guide the cable over the angled arm. The reel is formed to the motor mount and is connected to a motor on the motor mount through use of gearing. A hook is formed at the other end of the cable for use in hoisting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,263 shows a telescoping hoist assembly normally stored in the rear bumper area of a pickup truck including a boom telescoping into and out of a mast pivotally anchored at one end of the pickup bumper structure. A power winch operated by the pickup electrical system is axially mounted on the outward end of the boom. With the boom extended out of the mast the cable is connected with the anchored area of the mast for a hoist self erecting action interrupted, when the mast is vertical, by stop members at the base end of the mast. A mast stored jack structure supports hoist loads independently of the pickup suspension system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,574 teaches a device for lifting and loading objects into and out of a storage space of an automobile for transportation thereby. The device is fully contained within the storage space and is adapted to be mounted directly to the chassis of the automobile. The device is particularly suited to assist disabled individuals who may be unable to lift, load and transport such objects otherwise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,120 relates to a system designed to enable equipment mounted on the outside of a motor vehicle to swing away from the mounting point when access to the vehicle is necessary while, at the same time, protecting people in the area from undesired and/or inadvertent operation of the equipment when not properly secured to the mounting point.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,379 discloses a lifting device adapted to be mounted within an automobile trunk having a rigid boom mounted for free pivotal movement about both vertical and horizontal axes. The lifting device includes a motor driven lift mounted at the distal end of the boom. A counterbalance member is employed to counterbalance the gravitational force biasing the boom in downward movement about its horizontal axis so that the boom may be easily pivoted upwardly or downwardly by a handicapped person. A prop assembly may be manually moved into position to positively maintain the boom in an elevated lifting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,864 shows a swingable boom-type hoist which is characterized by a forwardly-projecting tongue of rectangular cross section that telescopes into the box-beam style drawbar of a conventional trailer hitch carried by the load-carrying vehicle thus cooperating therewith to maintain the stanchion from which the tongue projects in an upright position. The boom on the upper end of the stanchion can swing through a complete circle and is preferably vertically adjustable. An important feature is the retractable foot on the lower end of the stanchion which can be raised off the ground while the load in the load-carrying vehicle is transported from one place to another without having to dismount the hoist. A conventional winch is used to raise and lower the load.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,594 teaches a collapsible hoisting apparatus comprising an upright member having a shoe at one end and a swivel pin mounted in the shoe and adapted to pivotally seat in a socket. A boom head affixes one end of a boom to the other end of the upright member for rotation from a position in which the boom is parallel to the upright member in the plane of the boom and the upright member to a position in which the boom is at right angles to the upright member in the plane. A trolley device is movably mounted on the boom for movement along the length thereof. A cable winding device is rotatably mounted on the trolley device. A cable having a hook at one end thereof and affixed to the cable winding device at the other end thereof is wound on the cable winding device. A turning device coupled to the cable winding device extends beyond the boom head for selective manual winding and unwinding of the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,038 shows a foldable hoist assembly with an elongated column with a boom pivotally mounted at its outer end to be movable from a stored position alongside the column to its operating position. A spindle with radial and thrust bearings in the support column base provides rotary support so that loads suspended from the boom can be swung over and away from the load bed. The base of the support column is also pivotally mounted on a horizontal support structure affixed to the vehicle chassis, preferably in the position of a bumper below the rear edge of the load bed. With boom stored alongside, the support column is rotated from its upright operating position to be supported horizontally within the support structure leaving the load bed unobstructed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,581 shows an automobile bumper mounted wheelchair carrier includes an extendible hydraulic cylinder secured to a trailer-type bumper hitch. In the lowered position, a support plate receives the two rear wheels, upper lock members are aligned with the side frames of the wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,660 describes a vehicle-mounted apparatus for lifting and transporting a wheelchair comprising a base onto which the power wheelchair is driven and parked and a motorized lift mechanism to lift the base and wheelchair for transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,411 shows an apparatus for transporting a motor scooter on the back of a motor vehicle such as an automobile, van, pick-up truck or the like. The apparatus platform can be lowered so the motor scooter can be loaded onto the platform. A restraining bar is used to secure the scooter to the platform. To remove the motor scooter, the platform is lowered to the ground, the lowering of the platform causing the restraining bar to be released.
Additional examples of the prior art are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,450; U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,282; U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,361; U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,779; U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,522; U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,424; U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,107; U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,289; U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,817; U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,055; U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,895; U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,215; U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,027; U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,417: U.S. Pat. No. 7,380,803; U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,416; US 2003/0165376 and US 2006/0093462.